There is nothing wrong with covers. Sprinkling them into your set or tossing one into an album of original material is a great way of showing influences or pointing out a righteous tune. But unless you’re Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, releasing a full album of covers reeks of commercialism and/or contractual obligation. Yes, it’s cool that MxPx got Matt Hensley of Flogging Molly to add an accordion solo to the Dead Milkmen’s already quirky “Punk Rock Girl.” It was great to hear former Tsunami Bomb singer Agent M belt the lead better than Belinda Carlisle on “Heaven Is A Place On Earth.” And they deserve kudos for their renditions of The Blue Hearts' “Linda Linda” and Kim Wilde’s “Kids In America.” But at times it seems like they’re dialing it in - we’ve heard the Proclaimers “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” into Cheap Trick’s “Surrender” and back countless times. The Go-Gos' “Vacation” and the most radio-friendly song the Clash ever wrote are being played by at least 14 bands as you read this. Why not just do “Add It Up” or a Poison tune (oh, look, “Fallen Angel”)? This could be acceptable, even exciting, if it sounded like MxPx were having fun. For a cover to truly come into its own, the band needs to be as passionate as their audience. Sadly, there is a distinct lack of energy in this recording, leaving it lackluster at best. - Timothy Asher